This section is intended to provide relevant contextual information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the described embodiments. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light and not as admissions of prior art.
The present disclosure generally relates to oil and gas exploration and production, and more particularly to an apparatus or system to control flow within a well.
In a hydrocarbon production well, it is many times beneficial to be able to regulate or control the flow of fluids from an earth formation into a well or wellbore, from the wellbore into the formation, and within the wellbore. A variety of purposes may be served by such regulation, including prevention of water or gas coning, minimizing sand production, minimizing water and/or gas production, maximizing oil production, balancing production among zones, transmitting signals, in addition to other uses.
Therefore, it will be appreciated that advancements in the art of controlling fluid flow in a well would be desirable in the circumstances mentioned above, and such advancements would also be beneficial in a wide variety of other circumstances.
The illustrated figures are only exemplary and are not intended to assert or imply any limitation with regard to the environment, architecture, design, or process in which different embodiments may be implemented.